Anxiety and Mindfulness

I often find my mind caught up in too many things at once. I indulge myself in the stresses and anxieties that surround me. I let them consume me. My heart starts racing. I feel the pounding in my chest reaching to my throat. My lungs tense. Despite these symptoms, there are time I can barely tell I am reaching my limit. This building up of anxiety happens so often that it can often pass as normal, whether or not it stays longs.

On Tuesday, I began having a strong bout of anxiety. I have recently started an internship at a wonderful not-for-profit organization. However, I am the only designer. I am a one woman show that has been dropped in head first. It’s not that I don’t enjoy designing what they’ve asked me to; I simply let all of the things given to me to do overwhelm me.

After working through lunch, I finally realized I needed a break. Luckily, my workplace has a nice loft area I could escape to where I opened my Pacifica app to find a relaxation exercise. I had never tried mindfulness before. In fact, I felt skeptical about doing it as I thought mindfulness was an exercise for those losing touch with reality. Little did I know that anxiety can make a person lose touch with reality.

Mindfulness, in essence, is an exercise that makes you focus on your senses to ground someone in the present moment. I pulled up the five minute guided mindfulness exercise that moved my focus through my five senses. The woman prompted me to pay attention to the small details—the lingering taste in my mouth and the subtle scents in the air.

Peacefulness and happiness overcame me after the exercise. I actually started smiling for seemingly no reason. I no longer suffered from my heart banging against my ribs or my thoughts racing. I felt ready to do what needed to be done. Most of all, I didn’t feel the overwhelming burden of my tasks. To be honest, I have never found such a quick and effective method of stopping both my racing heart and obsessive thinking.

I’m glad mindfulness and meditation help you keep your anxiety in control. I have tried some yoga, but I have not stayed with it. Though, I will note that the “warrior” pose was one of my favorites when I did try it.

Nathan writing here…My wife has mentioned to me that this is like meditation, and since we are believers in Christ, she has focused on that and truly it is such a good feeling to just relax and live in the present. We will keep you in our prayers, wonderful post!

Mindfulness is much like a meditation. It may actually be a type of meditation (I am no expert on mindfulness). Being a believer in Christ as well, I often pray and give thanks to God after calming myself down. Agreed! Living in the present helps keep our focus off of the past and keep our hearts from growing anxious about the future. Thank you so much for your prayers and compliment!

I have, and it’s so refreshing! I used to experience anxiety attacks often and my mind literally started to break down. Fortunately, the art of mindfulness and my faith in Christ had really led me through that dark period in my life.

I’m so glad you learned such an important lesson – you most need a break when you are busiest! Whether you call this mindfulness, meditation, relaxation, is not the point. It’s taking time to be quiet/still and breathing deeply that are important. Way to go!